Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and its creators.

A/N: Hi, no much to say so let's go with the chapter, and thank you for reading. Oh, I want to say that next week's chapter is going to be posted later after Sunday since I will be a little busy and I can't post that day. again Thank you and enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 23: Going Deep

After Joel and Ellie get out from the beach, Joel takes her to eat in a small place on the way to his house. Ellie wanted to talk to him about what happened on the beach, but as they were having a good time she will leave that for another time. She really wanted to know if it bothers him what people think about them being together. Because if they're going to have a relationship, she needs to know. Ellie already knows what some people are going to think, which is why she needs to talk to her mother too. Their difference in age does not bother her… she falls for Joel and she wants this to work out for them no matter what people will say or think including her mother. So after they got back to Joel's house, she took a bath and when she got out Ellie was ready to talk with Joel. Soon Ellie changes into her sleeping clothes, she walks to the living room where Joel was sitting on the couch talking on his house phone with someone, so she waits for him to finish.

"Solo necesito saber la razón por la que ese imbécil socio tú yo me despidió?" Joel waits for the man to answer him.

"Siento mucho eso Joel… pero yo no pude hacer nada al respecto. Ya firmé los papeles y ahora el bar será administrado por ellos."

"Maldita sea Matt… qué rayos pasó? Ese lugar era bueno y iba mucha gente… porque lo vendiste?"

"Si todo parecía ir bien, pero en realidad estaba perdiendo mucho dinero… Y no lo vendí por completo, solo que ya no será el gerente." answer the man.

Joel lowered the phone and shook his head. "Que… no hay nada que hacer con eso… pero todavía no me has contestado mi pregunta?" Joel waited again since the man wasn't talking. "Solo dime… pues hoy escuche a alguien en la playa que mencionó algo sobre eso. Sé que no le caigo bien a ese mocoso, pero quiero saber la razón."

"Esta Bien… Joel… ya que no se puede hacer nada te dire. Cuando estabas en la clínica, vino varias un hombre americano buscando y quejándose de ti. Al Parecer era el tío de algún cliente que maltrataste y amenazó con demandar si no te despedían…"

"¿El tío de quién? Americanos? Los únicos americanos que dieron problemas fueron… Oh those motherfuckers kids…" Said Joel as he remembered the incident with Ellie and those American kids. Eso ni siquiera fue mi culpa, esos turistas imbéciles creen que pueden hacer lo que les da la gana?"

"Eso ya no importa… Joel… Lo siento mucho, trate de avisarte antes, pero todo ha sido un caos aquí. Solo espero que pueda encontrar otro trabajo." The man said before ending the call. .

"Gracias por nada maldito cobarde… y ese otro hijo de perra… fuck!" Joel throws the auricular to the floor as he stands up.

Ellie was waiting in the small corridor that leads to Joel's room and bathroom. She was waiting for him to finish and even though she didn't understand all that he said. But she knew that he was talking about his old job. Soon she saw him throw the phone, she entered the living room to see how he was. "Is everything alright?" she said with worried eyes.

Joel turns around as soon as he hears Ellie's voice and looks at her. "Yeah… sorry if I scare you with the yelling and..." he said while looking at the part of the phone on the floor. "About the phone." he finished before moving toward the thing and picking it up.

Ellie moved closer to him as he put the phone part in his place. She watches him go back to the couch and sit, but she can see in his face that something was wrong. "It was about you getting tired right?" Ellie quickly moved toward the couch and sat beside him. "What do they tell you?" she asked while moving one hand and grabbing his.

"Is nothing… I just wanted to confirm that I don't have to go to work anymore," he said in a lower voice, but Ellie knew that it was something more.

"Was it something to do with your accident or something else?"

Joel put one of his hands on top of her. "Is it okay… you don't need to worry. I knew I was fired since I got out of the hospital… I just… never mind." he knew now the reason he got fired but did not want to worry Ellie about it or make her feel guilty.

"Okay…. But if you need money or there is something I can do just let me know… okay?" She thighs her hand on his before moving her head forward and giving him a kiss on his cheek. Losing a job is not easy and she knows that Joel depends more on that, even if he does other things to get some extra money.

"Is it okay… Ellie is not about the money I have enough for now … is something… Don't worry it doesn't even matter now."

"Okay…" she looks at him trying to find a way to address the other subject she can shake out of her mind. "Joel… can I talk to you about something?" she asked as soon Joel moved his hand away from hers.

"Sure… But can it wait for later? I need to take a shower… and I don't feel like talking about something else either." he said while standing up. We should go to bed early, we will have a busy day tomorrow.

"Sure… no problem Joel," she answers him.

Joel starts to walk away but stops before he leaves the living room and turns around. "Oh, did you call your mom?"

"My mom?" Ellie opens her eyes wider. "Holy… shit!... I almost forgot."

"You better call her now that I will be in the shower…" He said before walking out of the living room and toward his room to pick up his sleeping clothes that normally are just his boxes.

"Oh… yeah that is a good idea… I will just look for my phone and call her… before she gets a heart attack."

Soon Joel was out of sight. Ellie got off the couch and looked for her phone. Okay… Well, I guess that I have to talk to her and tell her about Joel… so that way I get all that drama that I see coming out of the way. She said to herself before watching Joel enter the bathroom. Ellie walks to the room and looks for the bag where her phone is and gets it out. Then Ellie walked back to the living room and sat on the couch and called her mom.

After the phone rang a few times, her mom answered it. "Hello… darling… I am so glad that you called me back… I know that you do not want me to worry, but I can't help it."

"I know… Mom, I'm sorry that I didn't call you early but I just came back from the beach and had dinner."

"I'm fine sweetie… I will try to not bother you so much… I just want to know that you're okay."

"I Know Mom, but I can assure you that everything is okay."

"Now… are you going to tell me what happens to your hotel room? And who was that man that answered the phone last time?"

"Well, I guess I have to explain all that… About the hotel… a friend has an accident and-"

"Wait? Did you say a friend? I thought you would go there alone."

"I came alone Mom… is just someone I met here…. Anyway, can I continue?"

"Yes… Baby sorry." said her mother.

"Thanks…" said Ellie while rolling her eyes. She needs to find a way to tell her mother about Joel, but she always has complicated things. "Okay… as I was saying, I have to help my friend… so I have to stay in the hospital for a few days and for some reason, the hotel canceled the rest of my reservation."

"Oh, darling, that must be horrible… I didn't know they could do that. So did you find another hotel to stay in?"

"Weeeeell, not exactly…" said Ellie not knowing if her mother will understand what happened with all that since she doesn't even understand that herself.

"I understand that you need a vacation… and that you wanted some time for yourself, but I don't get why you want to stay there long after they do that to you."

"Is a little complicated, and I was a little surprised myself, but I resolved, and since I started to do what I came here for… I don't really mind… besides they refund my money so all is okay."

"And how do you resolve it? Because you haven't told me yet."

"I… staying with someone until I find another hotel to stay…" she said to her mother, but to be honest she does not want to get away from Joel, especially not now.

"Oh… my God Ellie… are you staying with a stranger there?" her mother said a little worried. "Are you staying with that man that answered the phone before?"

"Is not what you think… well not exactly."

"Jesus Ellie… I know you have been doing things because your father and you have that list you wanted to do together and in a way I understand. I know how much you love him and how much he loves you back… I"m so sorry that I wasn't there for him or you when he got sick… I know I didn't handle things with your father very well after the divorce and that you blame me for that. But I want to tell you that I'm here for you now and you don't need to handle his loss all by yourself…"

"I…know Mom… and I'm sorry for being so distant and I will try to change that from now on, but there is something I need to do by myself."

"Is okay baby… I just want to let you know that I will always be here for you," both women stop for a few minutes to wipe up the tears from their eyes, before continuing. "Now, let's talk about the man that answered the phone the other day. Because you have not told me anything yet."

Ellie takes another deep breath. "Okay, if you want to know how he is… His name is Joel… Joel Miller and he has been my tour guide here since I arrived… he also knows Spanish and-" she was interrupted by her mom.

"So you're telling me that you're staying with your tour guide?" she louder and with a surprised tone.

Ellie doesn't know how to answer her mother about that… well she does but she doesn't want her mother to know yet about the relationship Joel and her have. Mostly because she is not sure yet and Joel's age will not help much either.

"Yes… Mom I am staying with… my tour guide… We became good friends after we met, so he stayed in his house until I found some other place to stay." she said without getting into the other thing they were doing, before continuing. "Also, he is teaching me how to surf."

"Teaching you how to Surf? Are you serious? Isn't that a sport for men?" her mom said, making Ellie roll her eyes.

"No Mom… is not just a sport for men," said Ellie with an annoying tone. She can't believe that her mother said that too.

"Isn't that sport too dangerous too? I know that you did some streaming things with your dad… but surfing?"

"Mom… please don't start."

"I just worry about you… Ellie." her mother pauses for a minute before she speaks again. "I know that you're an adult and want to do things… But do dangerous things? I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Surfing is not that dangerous… and I've been careful. Besides, I have a good person teaching me."

"Are you having sex with him?"

"MOM!... is not what you think…"

"And what do you expect me to think? You're staying with a man that you just met… and you're telling me that nothing is happening?"

Another minute of silence between the two women. Ellie takes a deep breath but is not that she can blame her mom. "I'm sorry Mom, I don't know what to tell you… But I can say that he is a good man and he makes me happy," said Ellie before taking another deep breath. "He makes me feel better and less depressed and I like that… and I like him a lot." She just said that so her mother wouldn't continue asking questions. She wanted to talk about Joel, but not with her mom at least not yet.

"Okay… honey, if he makes you feel happy… I'm glad about that. I just don't want you to get hurt later on if that does not work out."

"Yeah… I know." another pose. "I just want to enjoy my vacation here… I will talk to you later okay and don't worry I will be fine."

"Okay Ellie, but if something happens just call me okay? Maybe you can tell me more about him at another time… just be careful okay?"

"I will be careful with the surfing thing… don't worry."

"I was talking about you new friend… but be careful with that too."

"I will Mom… thanks. I will call you as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay, baby. Be safe… love you."

"I love you too… mom," said Ellie before the call ended.

She wanted to tell her mother that she loved him, but did not want to worry if, in the end, this did not work out. She knows that her mother will get a concert or get mad as soon as she tells her that Joel is almost 20 years older than her and she does not want to enter into that discussion with her right now. Especially after what happened today on the beach. Ellie stayed in the living room until Joel came out of the bathroom.

"Is everything okay? Do you talk with you mon?" Joel asked while drying his hair with a towel.

"Yes… I call her and talk to her. She was just worried about me but so I told her that I was fine."

"Great… You should call her more often, so she doesn't worry about you too much."

"I'm trying…" she answered him.

Joel lowered the towel as soon as he felt his hair was dry enough. "I remember you telling me that you don't talk to her much because of what happened to your father, but she is your mother and I bet that she loves you very much, so you should give her a chance…"

Ellie stands up from the couch and walks toward Joel and hugs him. "Thank you… for making me feel a lot better," she said while sobbing a little.

Joel quickly moves his hand to her back and holds her tight. "You're welcome… kiddo," he said before kissing her on top of her head.

xXx

Joel and Ellie got to sleep after their short conversation as Joe told Ellie that they needed to get up early in the morning. The next day they go up and prepare the things they need for the trip Joel has for her. As they get ready to go Joel informs Ellie that he will take her diving in Rodrigo's boat to a closer island and that they will be out all day. Joel doesn't ask about her conversation with her mother the night before, but Ellie did tell him that they had a good conversation. After they eat breakfast Joel drives directly to Rodrigo's house. Before they started to put their things on the boat, Joel checked the house and made sure that all was okay there. Soon all was ready, both of them got into the boat and started their journey toward the open ocean.

One hour later. Ellie was in her bikini enjoying the sun while laying on top of a towel on the front part of the boat. "Hey… you should put more sunblock on your skin if you are going to stay there longer. We are still half an hour away from the place," Yell Joel from the driving part of the bout while looking down at her, don't mind the view.

After a minute, Ellie sat up and took her sunglasses off. "Don't worry about me… I put enough on my skin… but if you want to come down and put some more, you're welcome."

"That sounds good to me… but sadly I need to drive the boat," he said with a smile.

Ellie slowly got up and stood in front of the cabin and looked up at him. "Where are we going?" she asked him while putting her hands on her waist. "You have not told me yet."

"I already told you is a-"

"A surprise… yeah I know you said that already… But I noticed that we're far away from the main island and since we're not going in the direction of the mainland either I was curious… So where are we going?"

"Be patient… we're getting close…so you will find out soon enough," he said while looking now to the small island in the distance. (The island Santa Cruz was surrendered by other smaller islands and the entire group of islands was called The Galapagos Islands.) So Joel was taking Ellie to one that is south of Santa Cruz.

Ellie turned around and saw the close land in the distance. "Okay, so we're going to another Island?" Ellie turned her head around and looked at him. "Isn't that I complaining, but why did we come all the way here just to go to another beach? We could go to that beautiful cove you took me to before."

"Well, as I told you in the house we're going diving so we're not exactly going to a beach. Well, at least not at first," said Joel while continuing to drive the boat closer to the island.

"Okay… that sounds interesting," Ellie picks up the towel and walks toward the back part of the boat. Soon she was there, Ellie got on the stairs and went up where Joel was driving. The boat was getting close to the large island, but now they can see the smaller one close to it. "So wish one were going?" asked Ellie while moving close to him and putting an arm around his shoulder.

"We're going to the small one first, but later we're going to the beach of the large one… we can stay there until tomorrow if you want."

"Really!... Are we going to camp there?" She said all excited.

"Yep!" he said before slowing the boat close to the small island's rocky wall. "Well, that is if you wanted us to make a camp there… if not, we can just stay until night and-"

Ellie presses her body on his back and hugs him tight. "Are you kidding? I love camping… I haven't gone to one since I was a little girl. But I don't see you putting any tent here… so are we just going to sleep on the beach?"

After a few minutes, Joel stops the engine and turns into her. "Nope… we have a tent, Rodrigo keeps one in the boat. We sometimes stay on one of these islands when we're fishing," Joel slowly turned around and put his arm around her waist to pull her closer. "He also has a small inflatable raft that we can use to move our things to the beach."

Ellie moved her arms and put them around his neck. "Oh wow, you have all this planned… why didn't you tell me."

"Because if I tell you it will not be a surprise." he moved forward and gave her a small kiss. "Now let's get ready for the other part of the surprise."

"You mean the diving one?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"Yep!... that one."

"Oh, I like that one too," said Ellie before kissing him.

Soon the boat stops, and Joel and Ellie go down to the deck. While Ellie started to put on her diving suit Joel moved to the front and let go of the anchor. Then he moved to the back and started to get ready himself. After 20 minutes they were ready for the diving trip. Joel made sure that the boat stayed close to the rocky wall of the island without any problem.

Ellie was sitting on the back part of the boat ready to go in. "So… what are we going to see here? New coral reef… or some exotic fish?" she asked as soon she saw Joel moving over the back and sitting beside her.

"Something better…" he said with a smile on his face. "Here, you almost forget this," said Joel while passing her the underwater camera that Ellie bought a few days ago.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that I brought it, thanks." She looked at it with a smile on her face. "I hope that I can take good pictures with it," she said before turning a little and taking a picture of Joel.

Joel turned his head at the sound and saw Ellie take another picture of him. "Okay… I hope that works for you." he grabbed the bigger water lamp and got ready to dive. "Okay, are you ready for another adventure?"

"Always…" she said before putting the camera cable around her wrist and lowering her diving mask. "Just lead the way and I will follow you."

"Okay… adventure girl… follow me." Joel smiles at her, before putting on his diving mask and breath device and jumping into the water.

Ellie put her on and jumps after him. Ellie follows Joel under the water as they go deeper. The water was clear enough for her to take some pictures of the fish swimming closer to them. But after a few minutes, she noticed that Joel was swimming toward the wall rock of the island. She watches as Joel stops closer to the rocky wall to wait for her. Soon she was close, Joel pointed to the hole in the rock that was a little under them. Joel indicated to her that they were going and turned on the light of his lamp. Soon they were ready to proceed, Joel started swimming toward the hole. As they continue forward, Ellie follows Joel into the tunnel which starts to get darker as they move away from the entrance. The tunnel was not too big but was big enough for them to swim inside. The lamp illuminated part of the place, which gave Ellie the opportunity to take some pictures of the place. Some of the rocks that form the wall have coral of different colors on them, and as they swim more inside they start to glow. That was so cool that Ellie started to take some pictures of them.

After five minutes of swimming, Jowl guides her to an opening that will take them to a bigger space. Ellie followed Joel as he was swimming up to the surface of the place they arrived. Soon their head was out of the water they took the mask and mouth breather off and looked at each other.

"So what do you think?" said Joel while watching Ellie look at the place.

"Wow… is this cavern inside the island?" she said while looking at the ceiling of the place and saw some kind of phosphorescent illumination there.

"Yes… even if we are still underwater. If you look carefully at the ceiling it has some kind of plants that glow in the dark, giving this place a little illumination," he answered as he watched her shocked expression while looking at the place. "C'mon, you've not seen anything yet," Joel starts to swing toward the rocky shore a few feet away. Soon Joel got out of the water, he started to take the tank off then helped Ellie up to the rock. Soon Ellie was up, she started to strip off her diving equipment and put it down beside Joel.

Ellie looks at the ceiling and at the beautiful formation of the cavern. "Wow…" she said again. "How can this be even possible? If we're under the ocean? How does the air get here?"

Joel looks at the ceiling. "I don't know how the caver was formed, but I think that they've to be some kind of tunnel in the rock that connects to the surfer of the island and makes possible the bubble we're in."

Ellie starts to take some pictures of the beautiful place. "Wow… this is incredible… Joel."

Joel smiles at Ellie. "And you don't see the best part yet… C'mon," Joel starts to walk toward the other side of the cavern making sure to not slip on the wet rocky ground. Even though the phosphorescent light illuminated the place a little Joel needed to use his lamp to see where they were going. "Is this way… I will show you the best part of the cavern… but be careful the rock floor can be slipping a little."

Ellie follows Joel to the other side of the cavern and after a few minutes, They stop on a stretched open hole in the rock wall that Joel was illuminated with his lamp. "What is that?" she asked.

Joel turns his head and looks at her. "This is an entrance to another part of the cavern, but being careful is a little stretchy." Joel turns around and starts to move forward and gets inside the hole in the wall. Ellie follows him inside. The place was now completely dark except for Joel's lamp. It takes a few minutes to cross to the other side and it was a little difficult to breathe in there. But as soon as they got to the end of the small tunnel and got out, Ellie stood still while looking at the place.

"Oh, Joel… this… this incredible," she said while moving slowly inside the place. "How… how can this be even possible?" Ellie was looking all around her. The cavern was bigger than the other one and the ceiling was more elevated than the other part. The place was still a little dark, but it was the same as the other part. Up in the ceiling was the same kind of glowing thing, but in this part the illumination was different. The ceiling of the place looks like it had millions of small blue stars, making the place more beautiful than the preview one. "Joel… do you know what those things are?" she asked curiously.

Joel moves beside her and looks at the ceiling. "I don't know… I try to look for any information, but can't find it. Anyway, you're the one that is studying the ocean… maybe you know what it is."

Ellie continues looking at the ceiling and taking pictures. "I never seen anything like this before, but I think that those can be some kind of plant that grows there with some kind of illuminating property. Even so, all this is incredible… too bad we can't get up there to see them closer." Ellie takes a few more pictures before Joel grabs her arm and pulls her forward.

"Now to the main event," said Joel while pulling her.

"Is there more than this?" They only need to walk a few feet before encountering the small pound in the middle of the cavern. "Oh my God… Joel." Her eyes opened wide as soon as she saw the pond with a little waterfall that looked like it was coming from the ceiling at the end of the rocky wall. She can also see a few smaller and strange plants around the edge of the pond. The water looks clear and doesn't look like it was from the ocean. "Joel… is this?"

"Yep… freshwater" he crushed down and introduced one hand into the water. Then he stands up and gives Ellie some of the water so she can test it.

"It is… freshwater… and is not even that cold… incredible," she said while looking at the place. "How is this even possible if we're underwater?"

"My guess is that the water is coming from a river or something on the surface. Probably from some of the holes the air came in here or from another kind of way… but don't ask me how that water is not so cold, because I don't have any idea about that."

Ellie crushes to the edge of the pond and looks at the water. She touches it and feels the warm water. "A potable pound of water under the ocean… wow… I never see anything like it. I do not even remember anyone discovering something like this before," she turns her head and looks at Joel. "Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah I know, but it is better to leave it like this…. This incredible place is better to leave in touch."

"Yeah, I know, but people should know about a place like this… speaking of that, how many people know about this place?" Joel stayed quiet for a minute, then Ellie stood up in front of him. "Did any other people even… know about this place?"

"Just two… well, three now counting you," he answers.

Ellie moves her arm around his neck as soon as she moves closer. "Are you serious? No one knows about this?"

"Is better that way… you know what will happen if people find out," he said while moving his hand on Ellie's back. Tess and I found it a year later after she came to stay with me on the island. One day we came here looking for a good place to dive and found the hole in the wall by accident. Rodrigo was with us at that time so as soon as we saw the hole, Tess wanted to go inside to see how deep it was." he said trying not to remember much about Tess's part, but since it was part of the story he continued. "After we got out of the tunnel we found the cavern and then this… but Tess wanted it to be our special place and also keep it in its natural state. She knows if people knew about this place tourists would want to come here and with time they will ruin the place. So we decided to not tell anyone about it."

"So… this is the cave Rodrigo mentioned before in his house?"

"Yep… as this was a special place for me and Tess, he thought that I would bring you here because…"

"He thinks that I'm special like… her?"

"Yes, and even though you were not at first… guess you're now. I think that the old man has a romantic heart and I think he saw something in you that I didn't see at first."

"Ahhhh! That is so cute…" Ellie moved closer and gave him a kiss. "Joel… I know Tess was your first love… and this was a special place for both of you… So thank you for bringing me here…" Ellie moved forward and kissed him again. After a minute Ellie moves her lips apart but stays wrapping at him. "So this is like your personal pool? Can we swim on it?

"Sure… if you like to try… just try to not drink too much of the water. It looks like it has some kind of mineral and it will affect you if you drink too much of it."

"Don't worry… I just wanted to go in… with you," Ellie moves away from him and starts to lower the zipper of her diving suit. "Naked of course..." She smiled at him before starting to take off the suit until she was only in her bikini… "Do you like the show?" She said before moving her hands to her back and starting to move in a sexy way. Ellie smiles as she watches Joel looking at her with his most interest. Slowly Ellie starts to undo the tie on the top part of her bikini while dancy sexy. Joel watches her as she takes her top off and throws it to him. Soon Joel catches the piece, and Ellie starts to move again in an erotic way before starting to undo the tie on the side of the lower part of the bikini. "Do you want this part too?" she said before taking it off and throwing it toward him too.

While Joel watches Ellie's exotic dance, he starts to take his suit off. "Ohh… Ellie, you really want to kill me," he said while trying to take off his clothes as fast as he could. Ellie watched him while moving back toward the natural pool and slowly started to get in.

"C'mon… sexy boy… don't let me wait too long," she said with a sexy voice.

Joel quickly finishes taking off his dive suit and starts to take his shorts off. Soon he was completely naked hu walk toward the pool. Soon he was in, Joel moved close to Ellie and put his arm around her waist. "You look so beautiful here…" he said before moving his head to her neck and starting to kiss her.

"Just in here?" Ellie said while feeling his lips on her neck.

"Yeah… just in here," said Joel before continuing. The water was deep enough to cover half of their bodies and the phosphorescent light around them made all that a wonderful experience.

"Really!… Then we should stay here forever…" Ellie moves her hands to his back and closes her eyes while enjoying Joel's work on her. After a few minutes, Joel moves his head in front of her and goes down for a kiss, more passionate this time. While the makeup is in the water, Joel moves his hands under her tights and pulls her up. "Ohhh… yes… I wanted to do it here…" said Ellie as soon their lips got separated.

Joel looks at her face and smiles. "Are you sure about doing sex here? I don't bring any condom with me and…" Joel started.

"Don't worry about that… I'm on the pills… remember?" Ellie moves her head forward and kisses him again. "Joel… make love to me…" she grabs his face and looks into his eyes. "Please!" Slowly Joel adjusts her legs and moves her up while guiding his member toward her entrance and slowly pushes it inside. After it was all inside, he started to thrust with a steady rhythm. After a few minutes, Ellie moves her arm around his neck and buries her face on his shoulder while helping Joel move his hand and grab his butt cheek, and starts to move her up and down. Ellie moves her head and kisses him like she was hungry while they have passionate sex. Their lauded moans echo around the cavern, but lucky for them there is no one there to hear them. They continue until both of them have their organs half an hour later.

After they have sex, both move to the edge of the pound and sit there closer to one another.

"So… You and… Tess came here a lot?" asked Ellie while wrapping her arm around Joel and putting her head on his shoulder.

Joel just closed his eyes and lay his head back. "Do you really want to talk about my ex… after having sex here?"

"I know it sounds weird, but I just… want to know more about your life… and Tess was part of that life…"

"Yeah… a part that I ruined… I just…" Joel with a sad tone.

Ellie moves her head away from his shoulder to look at him. "Is okay… you don't need to talk about it here if you don't want to…I was a little curious." Ellie looks around the cavern still in shock at the beauty of the place. The luminescent plant keeps the place light enough with all kinds of colors making the place more beautiful. "I can see now why this place was so special for you two and why you and Tess want to keep it secret… and it makes me happy that you decided to share this with me."

Joel pulls her closer while looking at the ceiling. "I make a lot of mistakes in my life… and I was lucky that Tess was there for me… until I ruined all that."

"I'm sorry, do you know what happened to her? I mean… Did you ever call her again or try to find her after you get better?"

"I called her a few times a few years later but the phone was disconnected, So I guess she changed her phone number. She never calls either, so I guess that she found someone better than me."

Ellie moves her head to his chest where she can feel his heart beating. "I think that you sell yourself too short… yeah you maybe push her away… but that doesn't mean that you're a bad person. You only did it for her when you're in a bad situation, but I don't see anything bad in you."

"Thank you… hope you don't change your mind when you really know me," Joel said before kissing the top of her head.

"You don't need to thank me for that… because it's true… and I am not going to change my mind about my feelings for you." Ellie raises her head to look at him. "I love you Joel… and nothing is going to change that. I can see that you love Tess very much and what happened was bad for both of you. But you need to see forward and let the past be behind you. Yeah, I know that I'm not the right person to talk about this, but I think that together we can overcome our sad past."

Joel stayed quiet for a few minutes. "I don't know what to say to that, but I think that we should get back to the boat… the water is maybe a little warm here, but the cavern can be really cold if we stay too long. Especially naked and wet."

Ellie giggles at that. "I love when your face turns red every time you talk about us being naked… Can we stay here a little longer? I want to take some more pictures of the place."

"Okay, we can stay a little longer," he said before giving her a little kiss on her cheek. "You know that you can't put those pictures on the Internet right? If you do, people will start to ask where you took them and with time they will find this place, and it is not going to be a secret anymore."

"Okay… I will just take a few for us eyes only…, especially the sexy naked ones." She started to giggle after that.

They stay in the pond for another half an hour, then get out and put their diving suit back on, and start to walk out of there. Soon they get out of the tunnel and back to the open ocean. They swim back to the boat. Once on the boat they take off the diving suit and get inside the cabin to grab something to eat. Ellie put a t-shirt over her bikini as they sat on the small table inside the boat.

"So we're really going to camp on that other island?" asked Ellie while eating her sandwich.

"Yeah… is going to be cool… Tess and I… sorry."

"Joel is okay… you can talk about your time with her I don't mind."

"Yeah… anyway." Joel grabs his beer and takes a sip. "I know that I already asked you about the conversation you have with your mother, but I want to know how you feel about it."

"Well, I feel good… I know that my Mom can be difficult sometimes. But I don't feel like blaming her for my dad's death anymore… So I guess that is a good start."

"Oh, that is good… I know that you have your differences with your Mom, but she is still your mother and I bet she loves you very much."

"Yeah… I know, but sometimes it is so difficult to get close to her again." Ellie looks at Joel's face waiting for the question that she knows is there. "Are you not going to ask me?"

Joel raises an eyebrow. "Ask you what?"

"If I tell her about you… I know that you want to ask me that."

Joel looks like he does not really want to hear the answer to that. He doesn't know much about her mother, but he knows that she is not going to approve of her daughter dating a 40-year-old man, less having sex with him. After a few minutes of silence, he asked her.

"Did you?" he just needed to look at the expression on her face to know that she didn't tell her everything. "I just hope that you don't tell her that you're having sex with an old man."

"Joel you're not that old… but not I didn't tell her that… I don't give her all the details, but she knows that I'm staying in your house. I told her that you're my tour guide and that you're teaching me how to surf. But she knew that we were going out, just not how far we were."

"Wow, you told her all that… and she doesn't freak out?"

"Not as much as I expected… but yes. she was a little, that was why I didn't tell her everything. She doesn't want me to get hurt, but I told her that you make me happy."

"Well, that is a start… I guess," said Joel before finishing his beer and standing up. "We better be moving. We need to get to the island and get our things to the beach before it gets dark.

Ellie wanted to talk to him about his reaction on the beach the other day. She could see how bad he felt when the people there looked at them and started to say things. She knows that that bothers him a lot. She doesn't care what people think about them… they're both adults and they don't need to feel ashamed to be together in public. But all that can wait for later. She just wants to go to that beach and have sex with Joel in the tent or maybe in the sand… because that is definitely going to happen.

"What?" she asked when he gave her a look.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what?" she said with an innocent tone.

"Like a hungry animal waiting to catch his prey."

Ellie stands up and walks toward him. "I don't know what you're talking about." She moves past him at the entrance of the boat cabin and grabs one of his butt cheeks and roars in a sexy way, before continuing to walk out.

"Damn girl… I am not sure if I can keep up with you… if you continue acting like that."